Game of chance and system and method for playing games of chance

ABSTRACT

A game of chance is provided in which a predetermined fixed number of winning cell content drawn from a predetermined set of cell content. The drawn content is matched to the content on game cards and if the matched game card content covers a predetermined winning pattern then the game card is a winner. In one example, numerous winners may occur per game session because the game continues until the predetermined fixed number of winning cell content is drawn and not until a win occurs.

RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. s 119(e) to U.S.Provisional Application Serial No. 60/431,036, entitled “GAME OF CHANCESYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PLAYING GAMES OF CHANCE,” filed on Dec. 5, 2002,which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention relates to games of chance and, moreparticularly, to methods of and systems for playing games of chance.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

[0003] Legalized public and private bingo games abound in the UnitedStates and throughout the world. Bingo-type games involve a plurality ofparticipants each having at least one pre-printed playing card.Typically, bingo playing cards comprise five columns, corresponding tothe letters “B”, “I”, “N”, “G” and “O”, whence the game derives itsname, and five rows in a boxed matrix. Numbers and/or free spacespopulate the boxes in the matrix.

[0004] The game of bingo is played by randomly selecting winning numbersfrom a population of numbers. In a traditional bingo game, a participantwins when a combination of selected winning numbers covers at least onerow, column, and/or diagonal of five numbers on at least oneparticipant's playing card. However in many bingo games, numerous otherpatterns that have been predetermined may also be used for winning;these patterns include those known as Hard Way (five-in-a-row withoutusing the free spot), Six Pack (2×3 or 3×2 matrix), or Small Kite. Whena participant covers a winning pattern with winning numbers, he or shedeclares “Bingo!” Verification of the win occurs immediately and if thewin is verified, the game ends and no further numbers are drawn.Generally, there is only a single winner for each game; if there aremultiple winners, the prize is divided equally among all winners.

[0005] Keno is another type of legalized public and private game commonin the United States and throughout the world. Compared to bingo,keno-type games typically draw more random winning numbers from a largerpopulation of numbers, e.g., integers from 1 to 80. Indeed, keno-typegames typically select more winning numbers from the population ofnumbers than are required to win.

[0006] For example, typically about twenty winning numbers are selectedfrom the population of numbers and game participants may win a prize ifthey match anywhere between zero and fifteen of the winning numbers.Thus, a game participant still can win the top prize without having tomatch all, or even any, of the winning numbers drawn. Indeed, bycomparison, keno-type games typically produce more opportunities tomatch winning numbers.

[0007] Moreover, keno-type games are more flexible than bingo-type gamesbecause game participants can choose how many winning numbers they wantto try to match in each game, for example two, five, ten, etc.Correspondingly, prizes, for example cash jackpots, are greater whenmore numbers must be, and ultimately are, matched. Indeed, keno prizesgenerally increase commensurate with the odds of matching two numbers ofthe twenty selected, versus matching five of twenty, versus matching tenof twenty, etc.

[0008] There is a present and recurring need for new games of chancethat are easy to understand, are easy to play, and are accessible whilestill able to have more than one winner, have fixed odds to win and havea predetermined payout for a win. Such a game is needed to attract newgame players and to provide existing players with another game of chancewith fixed odds of winning other than an instant lottery or keno.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] One aspect of the invention provides a game that has a gamesession that includes one or more game players, each having one or moregame pieces, which themselves each have one or more game cards. Eachgame card has cells arranged in a pattern predetermined for the gamesession and has each cell filled with content randomly by a gameoperator or computer from a predetermined set of cell content for thegame session; as used herein, a “set” of items may include one or moreof such items. A predetermined fixed number of winning cell content isthen randomly drawn and matched to the content of each game card. Thegame player holding a winning game card is then paid according to apredetermined payout table associated with the game session.

[0010] According to one aspect of the present invention, a method isprovided for conducting a plurality of game sessions. The methodcomprises acts of providing for, in at least one of at least two of theplurality of game sessions, a wagering game of chance, and providing foran entry of at least one player in at least one of a plurality of gamesessions, wherein the act of providing for an entry includes an act ofproviding for a subscription of the at least one player to the at leasttwo of the plurality of game sessions. According to one embodiment ofthe present invention, the wagering game of chance further comprisesperforming acts of determining, for the at least one player, the atleast one game card having a pattern, determining, during a gamesession, a winning pattern, and drawing winning cell content from apredetermined set of cell content. The wagering game of chance furthercomprises performing acts of determining if, for the at least oneplayer, whether the pattern of cell content on the game card matchingthe drawn winning cell content makes a pattern matching the winningpattern, and if so, determining a payout.

[0011] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the act ofdetermining the payout includes an act of determining the payout basedupon fixed odds of winning. According to one embodiment of the presentinvention, the at least two of the plurality of game sessions areconsecutive. According to one embodiment of the present invention, themethod further comprises an act of providing for payment, prior to aconducting of the at least two of the plurality of game sessions, forthe subscription of the at least one player to the at least two of theplurality of game sessions.

[0012] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the methodfurther comprises an act of conducting the wagering game of chance overa communication network. According to one embodiment of the presentinvention, the act of determining a payout includes determining, from apredetermined payout table, a payout to the at least one player.According to one embodiment of the present invention, the wagering gameof chance includes odds of winning that are fixed. According to oneembodiment of the present invention, the wagering game of chanceincludes odds of winning that are not fixed.

[0013] According to another aspect of the present invention, a wageringgame of chance is provided wherein a game player subscribes to playmultiple game sessions. According to one embodiment of the invention,the subscription is to play consecutive games. According to anotherembodiment of the invention, the player may automatically renew thesubscription. According to another embodiment of the invention, theplayer pays to subscribe with money or loyalty points. According toanother embodiment of the invention, the player pays to subscribe bycash, debit or credit card, account credit or loyalty program credit.

[0014] According to another embodiment of the invention, the game isavailable on a network. According to another embodiment of theinvention, the network is a cable system, the internet, or wireless.According to another embodiment of the invention, the cells of each gamecard of each game piece played by the subscribing player contain contentchosen randomly by a computer from a predetermined set of cell content.According to another embodiment of the invention, new game cards arechosen randomly by a computer every game session for the subscribingplayer.

[0015] According to another aspect of the present invention, acomputer-readable medium is provided having computer-readable signalsstored thereon that define instructions that, as a result of beingexecuted by a computer, instruct the computer to perform a method forconducting a plurality of game sessions. The method comprises acts ofproviding for, in at least one of at least two of the plurality of gamesessions, a wagering game of chance, and providing for an entry of atleast one player in at least one of a plurality of game sessions,wherein the act of providing for an entry includes an act of providingfor a subscription of the at least one player to the at least two of theplurality of game sessions.

[0016] According to one embodiment of the invention, the wagering gameof chance further comprises performing acts of determining, for the atleast one player, the at least one game card having a pattern,determining, during a game session, a winning pattern, and drawingwinning cell content from a predetermined set of cell content. Themethod further comprises acts of determining if, for the at least oneplayer, whether the pattern of cell content on the game card matchingthe drawn winning cell content makes a pattern matching the winningpattern, and if so, determining a payout.

[0017] According to another embodiment of the invention, the act ofdetermining the payout includes an act of determining the payout basedupon fixed odds of winning. According to another embodiment of theinvention, the at least two of the plurality of game sessions areconsecutive. According to another embodiment of the invention, themethod further comprises an act of providing for payment, prior to aconducting of the at least two of the plurality of game sessions, forthe subscription of the at least one player to the at least two of theplurality of game sessions. According to another embodiment of theinvention, the method further comprises an act of conducting thewagering game of chance over a communication network. According toanother embodiment of the invention, the act of determining a payoutincludes determining, from a predetermined payout table, a payout to theat least one player.

[0018] According to another aspect of the present invention, a method isprovided for conducting a game, the method comprising acts of providingfor an entry of at least one player in the game, and providing, to theat least one player, an alternative method of entry (AMOE) to the game.According to one embodiment of the present invention, the game is awagering game of chance. According to another aspect of the invention,the game is a wagering game of skill. According to another aspect of theinvention, the game has fixed odds of winning the game. According toanother aspect of the invention, the game has non-fixed odds of winningthe game.

[0019] According to another embodiment of the invention, the methodfurther comprises an act of conducting the game over a communicationnetwork. According to another embodiment of the invention, the act ofproviding an entry of the at least one player in the game includes anact of entering the at least one player in a game session following aprocessing of an entry request of the at least one player by thealternative method of entry (AMOE).

[0020] According to another embodiment of the invention, the methodfurther comprises an act of providing to the at least one player anindication of a game session to be entered by the alternative method ofentry (AMOE). According to another embodiment of the invention, themethod further comprises an act of conducting the wagering game ofchance, the act of conducting further comprising acts of determining,for the at least one player, the at least one game card having apattern, determining, prior to a game session, a winning pattern, anddrawing winning cell content from a predetermined set of cell content.The method further comprises acts of determining if, for the at leastone player, whether the pattern of cell content on the game cardmatching the drawn winning cell content makes a pattern matching thewinning pattern, and if so, determining a payout. According to anotherembodiment of the invention, the act of determining the payout includesan act of determining the payout based upon fixed odds of winning.According to another embodiment of the invention, the act of providingfor the alternative method of entry (AMOE) includes providing for anentry of the at least one player in at least two game sessions.

[0021] According to another aspect of the present invention, a wageringgame is provided wherein a game player plays the wagering game throughthe use of an alternative method of entry (AMOE). According to oneembodiment of the present invention, the wagering game is available tobe played on a communication network. According to another embodiment ofthe present invention, the communication network includes at least oneof a cable system, the Internet, or wireless network.

[0022] According to another embodiment of the present invention, theAMOE is performed by an act of submitting an entry to the wagering gameby mail. According to another embodiment of the present invention, theAMOE is performed by an act of submitting an entry to the wagering gameover the Internet. According to another embodiment of the presentinvention, a game session associated with the wagering game is providedwith an entry by AMOE. According to another embodiment of the presentinvention, the game session entered is the next starting game sessionafter the AMOE is received and logged by the game operator. According toanother embodiment of the present invention, the game session entered isthe next starting game session designated for AMOE game players afterthe AMOE is received and logged by the game operator. According toanother embodiment of the present invention, the wagering game is awagering game of chance.

[0023] According to another embodiment of the present invention, thewagering game is a wagering game of skill. According to anotherembodiment of the present invention, the wagering game has fixed odds ofwinning the game. According to another embodiment of the presentinvention, the wagering game has non-fixed odds of winning the game.According to another embodiment of the present invention, thealternative method of entry (AMOE) includes an entry of the at least oneplayer in at least two game sessions.

[0024] According to another aspect of the present invention, acomputer-readable medium is provided having computer-readable signalsstored thereon that define instructions that, as a result of beingexecuted by a computer, instruct the computer to perform a method forconducting a game. The method comprises acts of providing for an entryof at least one player in the game, and providing, to the at least oneplayer, an alternative method of entry (AMOE) to the game. According toone embodiment of the present invention, the method further comprises anact of conducting the game over a communication network.

[0025] According to another embodiment of the present invention, the actof providing an entry of the at least one player in the game includes anact of entering the at least one player in a game session following aprocessing of an entry request of the at least one player by thealternative method of entry (AMOE). According to another embodiment ofthe present invention, the method further comprises an act of providingto the at least one player an indication of a game session to be enteredby the alternative method of entry (AMOE).

[0026] According to another embodiment of the present invention, themethod further comprises an act of conducting the wagering game, the actof conducting further comprising acts of determining, for the at leastone player, the at least one game card having a pattern, anddetermining, prior to a game session, a winning pattern. The methodfurther comprises acts of drawing winning cell content from apredetermined set of cell content, determining if, for the at least oneplayer, whether the pattern of cell content on the game card matchingthe drawn winning cell content makes a pattern matching the winningpattern, and if so, determining a payout. According to anotherembodiment of the present invention, the act of determining the payoutincludes an act of determining the payout based upon fixed odds ofwinning.

[0027] According to another embodiment of the present invention, thegame is a wagering game of chance. According to another embodiment ofthe present invention, the game is a wagering game of skill. Accordingto another embodiment of the present invention, the game has fixed oddsof winning the game. According to another embodiment of the presentinvention, the game has non-fixed odds of winning the game. According toanother embodiment of the present invention, the alternative method ofentry (AMOE) includes an entry of the at least one player in at leasttwo game sessions.

[0028] According to another aspect of the present invention, a method isprovided for conducting a game, the game including one or more playersand involving, for each of the one or more players, at least one gamecard having a plurality of selectable content. The method comprises actsof determining, for at least one of the one or more players, the atleast one game card having a pattern, wherein the act of determining thegame card further comprises an act of determining content of the gamecard, determining, prior to a game session, a winning pattern, anddrawing winning cell content from a predetermined set of cell content.The method further comprises acts of determining if, for the at leastone player, whether the pattern of cell content on the game cardmatching the drawn winning cell content matches the winning pattern, andif so, determining a payout.

[0029] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the act ofdetermining a payout further comprises an act of determining the payoutbased upon fixed odds of winning. According to another embodiment of thepresent invention, the act of determining a payout further comprises anact of determining the payout based upon variable odds of winning.According to another embodiment of the present invention, the act ofdetermining the content of the game card further comprises automaticallychoosing at least one portion of the content without the at least oneplayer choosing the at least one portion. According to anotherembodiment of the present invention, the game includes a plurality ofgame cards including the at least one game card, and wherein the act ofdetermining the at least one game card includes an act of ensuring thatthe content of the at least one game card is unique. According toanother embodiment of the present invention, the game session isconducted without interaction of the at least one player.

[0030] According to another embodiment of the present invention, themethod further comprises an act of providing for an entry of the atleast one player in the game using an alternative method of entry(AMOE). According to another embodiment of the present invention, theact of determining a payout includes determining, from a predeterminedpayout table, a payout to the at least one player.

[0031] According to another aspect of the present invention, a game isprovided having an associated game session, the game comprising one ormore game pieces assigned to each player, wherein each game pieceincludes one or more game cards, wherein each of the one or more gamecards includes a plurality of cells arranged in a pattern, wherein eachof the one or more game pieces includes a set of game cards having asame set of game patterns, and wherein the calls of each of the one ormore game cards contains content chosen randomly from a predeterminedset of cell content, a winning cell matching pattern for the gamesession, a fixed number of winning cell content drawn from a known setof content, and a payout based upon a predetermined payout table.

[0032] According to one embodiment of the present invention, every gamepiece assigned in a game session is unique. According to anotherembodiment of the present invention, every game piece includes a set ofgame cards having at least one of different card patterns, a winningpattern, and cell content. According to another embodiment of thepresent invention, every game piece is made up of a set of game cardshaving at least one of a same card pattern, a winning pattern, and cellcontent. According to another embodiment of the present invention, everycard in a game session is unique. According to another embodiment of thepresent invention, the cell content includes at least one of a number, aletter, a shape, a symbol, a color, a logo and a drawing. According toanother embodiment of the present invention, each cell of each game cardcontains content unique to each respective game card. According toanother embodiment of the present invention, the cell content may be atleast one of a free, a blank and a wild spot.

[0033] According to another embodiment of the present invention, thepredetermined set of symbols is divided into subsets, at least one ofwhich is assigned for use in a particular group of cells. According toanother embodiment of the present invention, the game card is a bingogame card. According to another embodiment of the present invention, theplayer pays to play with at least one of money and loyalty points.According to another embodiment of the present invention, the playerpays by at least one of cash, a debit card, a credit card, an accountcredit, and a loyalty program credit. According to another embodiment ofthe present invention, the player is permitted to subscribe to playmultiple game sessions. According to another embodiment of the presentinvention, the player is permitted to automatically renew thesubscription.

[0034] According to another embodiment of the present invention, eachplayer plays against an operator of the game. According to anotherembodiment of the present invention, each player is not required toobserve the game session in order to play the game. According to anotherembodiment of the present invention, a player is permitted to observethe game session. According to another embodiment of the presentinvention, each player is permitted to observe on at least one of atelevision, a personal computer, a kiosk, a handheld device, a telephonehaving a display, a kiosk and in person. According to another embodimentof the present invention, the payout for winning depends upon the numberof winning cell content drawn before obtaining the winning pattern.According to another embodiment of the present invention, the payout forwinning decreases as the number of winning cell content drawn increasesto obtain the winning pattern.

[0035] According to another embodiment of the present invention, thepayout for winning to a player is increased with a correspondingincrease in payment by the player to play. According to anotherembodiment of the present invention, the payout to a player for winningthe game is divided among each of a plurality of winning players.According to another embodiment of the present invention, there may beat least one progressive jackpot. According to another embodiment of thepresent invention, the payout table is not directly determined by theodds of winning with or without a fee to the gaming operator. Accordingto another embodiment of the present invention, the payout for winningmay include at least one of money, a credit, merchandise, and loyaltypoints. According to another embodiment of the present invention, thepayout for winning money is performed by providing at least one of cash,a check, a debit card, and an account credit. According to anotherembodiment of the present invention, the payout for winning loyaltypoints is performed by providing at least one of a loyalty programcredit and an account credit.

[0036] According to another embodiment of the present invention, thegame sessions are run continually. According to another embodiment ofthe present invention, the winning cell content is randomly chosenmanually. According to another embodiment of the present invention, thewinning cell content is entered into a computer system. According toanother embodiment of the present invention, a game playing computersystem randomly picks the winning cell content from a predetermined setof content. According to another embodiment of the present invention,after each winning cell content is drawn, the computer system performsacts of determining whether any of the game cards being played attainsthe winning cell matching pattern, and determining the payout based uponthe predetermined payout table.

[0037] According to another embodiment of the present invention, aftereach winning cell content is drawn, the computer system performs acts ofdetermining whether any of the game cards being played attains thewinning cell matching pattern, and determining the payout based upon thepredetermined payout table. According to another embodiment of thepresent invention, the player manually daubs his or her at least onegame card. According to another embodiment of the present invention, theplayer tells the gaming operator or computer system that the gamewinning pattern has been matched. According to another embodiment of thepresent invention, the player and the winning game card must be verifiedand authenticated by the gaming operator or computer system. Accordingto another embodiment of the present invention, the player manuallydaubs his or her at least one game card. According to another embodimentof the present invention, the player tells the gaming operator orcomputer system that the game winning pattern has been matched.According to another embodiment of the present invention, the player andthe winning game card must be verified and authenticated by the gamingoperator or computer system. According to another embodiment of thepresent invention, a computer system additionally automatically daubseach game card cell being played in a game session containing thewinning content.

[0038] According to another embodiment of the present invention, a gameplaying computer system displays to all players when there is a winner.According to another embodiment of the present invention, a game playingcomputer system displays to all players when there is a winner.According to another embodiment of the present invention, a game playingcomputer system displays to all players at least one of the winning gamecard and the winning player. According to another embodiment of thepresent invention, a game playing computer system displays to allplayers at least one of the winning game card and the winning player.According to another embodiment of the present invention, a game playingcomputer system determines at least one of a game card or a playerclosest to winning. According to another embodiment of the presentinvention, a game playing computer system displays to all players atleast one of the game card and player closest to winning. According toanother embodiment of the present invention, the computer systemautomatically notifies a player of the game result. According to anotherembodiment of the present invention, the computer system automaticallynotifies a player of winnings.

[0039] According to another embodiment of the present invention, thecomputer system notifies a player by at least one of a group including atelephone, a pager, a fax, a mail message, a television notification, apersonal computer message, a handheld device, and a kiosk. According toanother embodiment of the present invention, the computer systemnotifies a player by at least one of a group including a telephone, apager, a fax, a mail message, a television notification, a personalcomputer message, a handheld device, and a kiosk. According to anotherembodiment of the present invention, a player may access his or herresults for past gaming sessions remotely at any time.

[0040] According to another embodiment of the present invention, theresults for past gaming sessions are at least one of a win, a payout,and a loss. According to another embodiment of the present invention, aplayer gains remote access through at least one of a group including akiosk, a phone, a handheld device, a television and a computer.According to another embodiment of the present invention, a playerreplays a past game session remotely at any time. According to anotherembodiment of the present invention, a player gains remote accessthrough at least one of a group including a kiosk, a telephone having adisplay, a handheld device, a television and a computer. According toanother embodiment of the present invention, the game sessions are runcontinually, and wherein advertising streams inserted into the displayduring the game session. According to another embodiment of the presentinvention, the game sessions are run continually, and whereinadvertising streams displayed between individual game sessions.According to another embodiment of the present invention, the player mayenter a game session through an alternative method of entry (AMOE).According to another embodiment of the present invention, the game andits associated game session are played using one or more computersystems. According to another embodiment of the present invention, thecells of each of the one or more game cards is chosen by a gamingoperator. According to another embodiment of the present invention, thecells of each of the one or more game cards is chosen randomly by acomputer system.

[0041] According to another aspect of the present invention, a system isprovided for playing a game on a computer system. The system comprisesmeans for allowing game players to enter to play a wagering game ofchance, means for assigning one or more game pieces to each player whereeach game piece comprises one or more game cards and wherein, each ofthe one or more game cards has cells arranged in a pattern, wherein eachof the one or more game pieces includes a set of game cards having asame set of game card patterns, and wherein the cells of each of the oneor more game card contain content chosen randomly from a predeterminedset of cell content, means for choosing a winning cell matching patternfor the game session, and means for drawing a fixed number of winningcell content from a known set of content. The system further comprisesmeans for matching the drawn winning cell content with the cell contentof each game card, means for determining one or more winning game cards,and means for paying out winnings according to a predetermined payouttable. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the systemfurther comprises means for notifying a winning player that he or shehas a winning game card. According to another embodiment of the presentinvention, the system further comprises means for notifying a winningplayer the payout that he or she has won.

[0042] According to another embodiment of the present invention, thesystem further comprises means for notifying all game players of winninggame cards as they occur. According to another embodiment of the presentinvention, the system further comprises means for notifying all gameplayers of the identity of a winning game player. According to anotherembodiment of the present invention, the system further comprises meansfor allowing game players to view the game session proceedings as theyoccur. According to another embodiment of the present invention, thesystem further comprises means for allowing game players to replay pastgame sessions. According to another embodiment of the present invention,the system further comprises means for allowing game players to enterusing an alternative method of entry (AMOE). According to anotherembodiment of the present invention, the system further comprises meansfor allowing game players to pay and to subscribe to one or more gamesessions.

[0043] According to another aspect of the present invention, acomputer-readable medium is provided having computer-readable signalsstored thereon that define instructions that, as a result of beingexecuted by a computer, instruct the computer to perform a method forconducting a game, the game including one or more players and involving,for each of the one or more players, at least one game card having aplurality of selectable content. The method comprises acts ofdetermining, for at least one of the one or more players, the at leastone game card having a pattern, wherein the act of determining the gamecard further comprises an act of determining content of the game card,determining, prior to a game session, a winning pattern, and drawingwinning cell content from a predetermined set of cell content. Themethod further comprises acts of determining if, for the at least oneplayer, whether the pattern of cell content on the game card matchingthe drawn winning cell content makes a pattern matching the winningpattern, and if so, determining a payout. According to one embodiment ofthe present invention, the act of determining a payout further comprisesan act of determining the payout based upon a fixed odds of winning.According to one embodiment of the present invention, the act ofdetermining the content of the game card further comprises an act ofautomatically choosing at least one portion of the content without theat least one player choosing the at least one portion.

[0044] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the gameincludes a plurality of game cards including the at least one game card,and wherein the act of determining the at least one game card includesan act of ensuring that the content of the at least one game card isunique. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the gamesession is conducted without interaction of the at least one player.According to one embodiment of the present invention, the method furthercomprises an act of providing for an entry of the at least one player inthe game using an alternative method of entry (AMOE). According to oneembodiment of the present invention, the act of determining a payoutincludes determining, from a predetermined payout table, a payout to theat least one player.

[0045] Further features and advantages of the present invention as wellas the structure of various embodiments of the present invention will bemore fully understood from the examples described below with referenceto the accompanying drawings. The following examples are intended toillustrate the benefits of the present invention, but do not exemplifythe full scope of the invention. All references cited herein areexpressly incorporated by reference.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0046] In the drawings,

[0047]FIG. 1a is a diagram of a game card in a five-by-five (5×5) cellmatrix according to one embodiment of the invention;

[0048]FIG. 1b is a diagram of a bingo game card matrix having a freecell marked;

[0049]FIG. 1c is a diagram of a bingo game card matrix having cellcontents being numbers according to one embodiment of the invention;

[0050]FIGS. 1d-h are diagrams showing example possible patterns for abingo card;

[0051]FIGS. 2a-i are diagrams showing winning patterns in a game cardmatrix according to various embodiments of the invention;

[0052]FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an interrelationship betweengame sessions, players and cards according to one embodiment of theinvention;

[0053]FIG. 4 is a diagram showing components of a game session accordingto one embodiment of the invention;

[0054]FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a flow chart of a process for playinga game card according to one embodiment of the invention;

[0055]FIG. 6 is a diagram showing components of the game computer systemaccording to one embodiment of the invention;

[0056]FIG. 7 is a diagram showing components of a game payment subsystemaccording to one embodiment of the invention;

[0057]FIG. 8 is a diagram showing components of a game payout subsystemaccording to one embodiment of the invention;

[0058]FIG. 9 is a diagram showing components of a game playing andviewing subsystem according to one embodiment of the invention;

[0059]FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a general-purpose computer systemupon which various embodiments of the invention may be implemented; and

[0060]FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a computer data storage system withwhich various embodiments of the invention may be practiced.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0061] One aspect of the invention relates to a new game that includeselements of the well-known wagering games of chance known as bingo andkeno. There are advantages of these types of games that make these gamesattractive for online gaming.

[0062] However, there are disadvantages of bingo-type games includingthe following:

[0063] A player must be able to obtain the winnings numbers as they aredrawn, check the game card(s) for the winning numbers, and be able todeclare “Bingo!” to the game operator upon winning. Thus, this requiresa player to be physically present or connected visually and/or aurallyto the game operator.

[0064] A player may have a winning card but not know it because he orshe may have missed a winning number on the card or may not be able tokeep up with the calling of the winning numbers.

[0065] Typically only one or very few people win each game.

[0066] Because the posted prize is shared if there are multiple winners,it is difficult for a gaming operator to provide merchandise as a prizeunless the odds of winning are very low or a cash value equivalent isavailable to be split in the event of multiple winners.

[0067] The odds of winning are variable. The odds are dependent upon thenumber of cards being played.

[0068] Shortcomings associated with keno-type games include gamecomplexity and inaccessibility to the game. Indeed, keno-type games aremost frequently played in gambling establishments and bars, andtherefore, access to these games are limited to those who go to suchestablishments. Furthermore, those who have never played keno-type gamesfind the rules and the selection process confusing, so they are notinclined or are hesitant to play the game.

[0069] According to one embodiment of the invention, a game is providedwhich has a fixed odds of winning through the drawing of a predeterminednumber of winning cell content but is unlike keno in that a winningpattern must be obtained on a game card from the matches between thegame card cell content and the drawn winning cell content.

[0070] Prior to a game session, a game player may need to pay forplaying. For example, a game player may pay using money or loyaltypoints. In particular, a game player may pay using money by debit card,credit card, check, cash or from an account credit either with thegaming operator or an affiliated organization. Alternatively, a gameplayer may pay using loyalty points from an account held either by thegaming operator or by an affiliated organization. Loyalty points may beobtained from any type of organization but are generally associated withloyalty programs such as frequent flier programs for airlines, frequentstay programs for hotels or frequent visitor programs for casinos. Thegame player may pay in person (e.g., by using a cashier) or by otherremote methods including telephone, handheld device, kiosk, computerthrough the Internet or other network and mail. Payment may be in anyform that is legal in the particular jurisdiction.

[0071] In one embodiment of the invention, players may subscribe to playmultiple consecutive game sessions. That is, the player pays at one timeto play many consecutive game sessions. According to one embodiment,such players may subscribe to multiple games (e.g., fixed-odds ornon-fixed odds games) using a computer based interface (e.g., a personalcomputer, cell phone, PDA, set-top box or other interface). Thesesubscribed games may be automatically played (e.g., by a computersystem) without the need to interact with the game provider as discussedmore fully below. In another embodiment, the player may also choose tohave his or her subscription automatically renewed.

[0072] According to one embodiment of the invention, players may alsoenter to play this or any other wagering game of chance using analternative method of entry (AMOE). AMOE is a required available methodof entry that does not require a purchase to enter a sweepstake;sweepstakes are usually used as a promotional or marketing tool. Anindividual entering a sweepstakes by AMOE is required by law to have thesame odds of winning each of the available prizes.

[0073] A common AMOE method is to have an individual interested inentering the sweepstakes send in a postcard with his or her name,address or other contact information. Another AMOE method is to have anindividual sign on to a free internet website and submit the requiredinformation for free. Numerous other methods may be used for AMOE. Mostsweepstakes limit the number of times one individual or family may entera sweepstakes by AMOE.

[0074] According to one embodiment of the invention, it is realized thatan AMOE (alternative method of entry) may be used to enter a game ofchance. More particularly, it is possible to develop, implement and runwagering games of chance, including the inventive games describedherein, with an AMOE method of entry. AMOE methods are conventually usedto enter a player in a sweepstakes, which is not considered wagering orgambling. Thus, according to one embodiment of the invention, anindividual may enter a wagering game of chance by AMOE using, forexample, the post card or the online method outlined above. The wageringgame of chance player entering by AMOE may also have the same odds towin the payout associated with the game session in which they areentered. The wagering game of chance player entering by AMOE may also belimited to a small number of game sessions within a given period oftime, for example one game session in one year or two game session inone month. Other numbers of sessions and given periods may be anynumber, and the invention is not limited to any particularimplementation.

[0075] According to one embodiment, the game session that the gameplayer entering by AMOE is entered into may be determined by the gameplayer on the AMOE entry form. For example, the post card AMOE may berequired to state the date and the time of the game session that thegame player wants to enter. Alternatively, the game session entered maybe the next starting game session after the AMOE is received and logged.As another alternative, AMOE entries may be assigned to a specific gamesession(s) each hour, day, week or other time interval.

[0076]FIG. 3 shows an example relationship between time, game sessions,game players, game pieces and game cards according to one embodiment ofthe present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the three dots denote when anitem may proceed ad infinitum. For example, a player can play one ormore game pieces (e.g., from one piece up to a very large number ofpieces). As discussed above, a player 120 may pay for the game or obtainaccess to the game through AMOE. A game player (e.g., player 120) mayplay at least one game piece 118 for a particular game session 122.Also, a player may have as many game pieces 118 as they desire to playin each session (e.g., session 122). Each game piece 118 may then bemade up of one or more game cards 100. According to one embodiment, thenumber of game cards 100 per game piece 118 may be predetermined (thatis, determined at any time prior to the beginning of the game session,e.g., one second, one year in advance) for each game session 122. It mayalso be possible that each game card 100 within a game piece 118 has adifferent card pattern, different winning pattern, predetermined cellcontent set or any other predetermined parameter.

[0077] Referring to FIG. 1a, a game card 100 includes a number of cells102. Each player in a game session 122 has at least one game card 100with the same pattern (128 of FIG. 4, e.g., pattern) or matrix of cells102. In one embodiment, each cell 102 of each game card 100 has a cellcontent 106. In one embodiment, the cell content 106 is one of apredetermined set of cell content (FIG. 4, 126) for that game session122, e.g. integers from 1 to 75 or English letters from A to Z or amixture of the two. The cells 102 of the game card 100 in each sessionmay be subdivided into groups, each of which includes a subset ofpossible cell content, e.g. a first column (e.g., item 111 of FIG. 1)includes integers 1 to 15, a second column (e.g., item 112 of FIG. 1)includes integers 16 to 30, on up to a fifth column (item 115) havingintegers 61 to 75 just as in the traditional game of bingo. Preferably,every game card 100 is unique in a game session 122, although duplicatecards may exist.

[0078] According to one embodiment of the invention, the object of agame of chance is to match cell content of a particular game card withthe drawn winning cell content (item 134) and to have the matched cellcontent cover at least the predetermined winning pattern 108. In FIG. 1,for example, the winning pattern 108 is denoted by the gray shading.Initially, because no winning cell content has yet been drawn, each gamecard does not have matching cell content (unless the cell content is afree or wild spot). The winning cell content is drawn from thepredetermined set of cell content (e.g., item of 126). In oneembodiment, winning cell content may be drawn one at a time up to apredetermined fixed number of drawn winning cell content (item 124 ofFIG. 4).

[0079] Because it may be possible to have more than one game card 100per game piece 118, a winning pattern may also cover more than one gamecard. For example, the winning pattern may be “W” on the first card, “I”on the second card, and “N” on the third card for a game piece 118containing three game cards for a game piece 118 containing three gamecards. Alternatively, for a game piece 118 containing three game cardsthe winning pattern may be obtained by a standard 5-in-a-row on any ofthree cards.

[0080] According to one embodiment, a game session 122 also includes anassociated predetermined payout table (e.g., item 130 of FIG. 4). Payouttable 130 may include a listing of the ways to obtain a payout and itspayout amount. Possible ways to obtain a payout include, for example,matching at least the winning pattern 108, matching only the winningpattern, matching part or none of the winning pattern, and matching noneof the game card.

[0081] The payout amount for each method of winning may depend at leastin part upon the odds of obtaining the particular way to obtain a payoutin the predetermined fixed number of drawn winning cell content. Forexample, the odds of matching a winning pattern with thirty winning cellcontent drawn may be twice that for twenty winning cell content drawn,but the payout may be only one and one half times higher for matchingthe winning pattern in twenty versus thirty winning cell content drawn.Thus, the payout amount may be varied (e.g., increased) if the winningpattern was obtained in less than the predetermined fixed number ofdrawn winning cell content. For example, if the predetermined number ofdrawn winning cell content is thirty and the payout for that is thirtycredits, then if the winning pattern is obtained within the first twentydrawn winning cell content then the payout for obtaining that may beforty-five credits. Other payout schemes may be used, and the inventionis not limited to any particular scheme. Also, a game card 100 may have,in one embodiment, only one payout per game session 122.

[0082] A payout table (item 130 of FIG. 4) may also include adjustmentsfor a player's subscription. For instance, the payout may be adjustedaccording to their subscription level. For example, a payout to aparticular player may be increased for example, if the player has amultiple game subscription, multiple card subscription, high payment pergame card or any combination of the three. The payout may also beadjusted for numerous other criterion including, for example, frequentplayer credits. Of course, payout adjustments generally must meet anylegal requirements for the gaming jurisdiction in which the game isplayed.

[0083] The payout table for each game session may also be supplementedby a jackpot that transfers from game session to game session. Thesetypes of jackpots are commonly called rolling or progressive jackpots. Arolling jackpot may be, for example, the same amount that transfers fromgame session to game session until it is paid out. A progressive jackpotis a rolling jackpot that increases as more game sessions, game cards orother criterion are played. Rolling or progressive jackpots aretypically paid out for a difficult way to match the drawn winning cellcontent. For example, in the case of the conventional game of bingo, ifall cells of a five by five (5×5) matrix are covered in the firsttwenty-five drawn winning cell content or no cells are covered afterfifty drawn winning cell content, the rolling jackpot may be paid out.

[0084] The final payout may also be affected as to whether the game hasa fixed payout for a win or whether the payout is shared (e.g., item 138of FIG. 4). If the payout is fixed for a win, according to oneembodiment, all players that have a game card winner for a certain typeof win will be paid the amount listed in the payout table for the win.In this instance, each player is playing solely against the gameoperator. If the payout is shared, then all players that have a gamecard winner for a certain type of win will be paid a total of the amountlisted in the payout table. Each player may receive a share of the totalpayout depending upon how much he or she paid for the game or any otherlegal criteria.

[0085] The final payout may also be affected by bonus play. Which iswell-known in the gaming industry. Bonus play works to increase somepayouts by offering the player a chance to multiply a payout.

[0086] One or more sessions may proceed concurrently. Parameters of theconcurrent game sessions 122 may be the same, similar, or different. Forexample, drawn winning cell content may be used for one or moreconcurrent sessions if, for example, the predetermined set of cellcontent is the same for the one or more concurrent sessions. As afurther example, the game card pattern of cells may be different in allthe game sessions.

[0087] Additionally, game sessions may run continually, i.e. one afteranother. When one game session ends, another session will beginimmediately or in a short period of time. The game sessions may follow aprecise time schedule so that players know when games will begin. Forexample, if game play in a session requires four and a half (4.5)minutes to complete, then the next game may start immediately or in adefined period (e.g., thirty seconds) to maintain to a schedule of gamesevery five minutes (for instance, at :00, :05, :10, :15, :20, :25, :30,:35, :40, :45, :50, :55 of each hour). Because, according to onembodiment, the game sessions may run continually, it may be possiblethat a particular game session will have no game player or game cardthat is being played within the particular game session.

[0088] Prior to a game session, cell content on at least one game cardmay be chosen by a game player from the predetermined set of cellcontent for a particular game session. A game player may choose the cellcontent of a game card manually or may use a computer system to selectthe cell content for a particular game session. Alternatively, accordingto one embodiment of the invention, a computer system may automaticallychoose the cell content on at least one game card for a game player.Because, according to one embodiment, a computer system can both choosethe cell content and play the game, a player need not configure andattend each game playing session, as discussed further below.

[0089] Referring to FIG. 1, the cell content 106 may be a free spot 104,a blank spot or a wild spot. A free, blank, or wild spot may be in anycell of the game card 100. Preferably, in one embodiment, there is onlyone free, blank and/or wild spot per game card. It is also possible thatthere is no free, blank or wild spot on a game card.

[0090] Besides a free, blank or wild spot, the cell content 106 may beany letter or character, number, symbol, color, logo, shape, drawing orother item that may be represented in the cell. The cell content 106 maybe, for example, a letter or character of any language (e.g., English,Russian, Japanese, Chinese, Greek, etc. Cell content 106 may also be anyrandom combination of letters or characters including words and phrases.Cell content 106 may also be a number expressed in any language (e.g.,English, Chinese, Roman, etc. The number may be represented by items(e.g. the number of stars in the cell or the dots on the face of a dieor dice). The number may be negative, zero, positive, integer, fraction,decimal, real or imaginary. Preferably, according to one embodiment, thenumber is a positive integer. Cell content 106 may also be a symbol. Forexample, astrology, religion, printing and computer fonts, road signs,or law symbols may be used. Cell content 106 may be any color includingblack, white or shade of gray. Cell content may also be a logo of acompany or product name or trademark. Any type of cell content may beused, and the invention is not limited to any particular type.

[0091] Preferably, cell content 106 of each cell 102 is unique for thegame card 100 to maximize the different possible cell content to matchthe drawn winning cell content for a game session. Also preferably, eachgame card in a game session is a unique combination of cell content 106and cell position for that game session.

[0092] Cells (e.g. item 102) of the game card 100 are generally arrangedin a pattern. The pattern includes three components: shape of the cells102, cell connectivity (or how the cells are connected to each other)and the size of the total pattern. For example, in FIG. 1a the cells aresquare and are attached to each other side-to-side in a five by five(5×5) matrix. FIG. 2 shows examples of some of the numerous otherpossible cell shape, cell connectivity and pattern size combinations.These are just examples, and the invention may implement other shape,connectivity and size combinations.

[0093] Referring to FIGS. 1a and 2, cells 102 on a game card 100 allhave the same shape and size as shown in FIGS. 1a and 2 a-g or cells mayhave a different shape or size such as a combination of octagons andsquares as in FIG. 2h.

[0094] Shape of the cells 102 may be any shape including, but notlimited to, a circular, triangle, square, pentagon or hexagon shape.Also, it is possible that all cells have different shapes. For example,various aspects of the invention may be implemented with a game cardhaving cells with irregularly shaped walls as shown in FIG. 2i. Thecells 102 may be connected to each other side-to-side, corner-to-corner,point-to-point or any other method.

[0095] Patterns may also have holes in them. For example, in FIG. 2c,square cells are connected to make a larger square having a hole in themiddle. Alternatively, the pattern of FIG. 2c has a pattern with a largesquare cell in the center. Another example pattern shown in FIG. 2hincludes a combination of octagonal and square cells as described aboveor may include a matrix of octagonal cells with square holes in themiddle. In another example pattern shown in FIG. 2d includes a patternof circular cells having four-sided holes or a pattern having circularand four-sided cells. Further, holes may be the same size and shape asthe cells. For instance, in FIG. 2e, three internal triangles of thepattern may be holes among six exterior triangles. It should beappreciated that other patterns may be used, and the invention is notlimited to any particular pattern.

[0096] The winning pattern for a game session may be, any subset of allthe cells in the associated game card pattern. The winning pattern maybe, for example, a random subset of all cells that may not appear tohave a pattern. Preferably, the winning pattern may be a recognizablepattern of cells. The winning pattern may have only one way of beingachieved and, as shown in FIGS. 1d-f, the winning pattern may or may notinclude the cell with the free, blank or wild spot. The winning patternmay also be achieved in a number of different ways. For example, afive-in-a-row winning pattern in a five by five matrix (as in bingo) canbe achieved twelve different ways as demonstrated by the shaded linesshown in FIG. 1g. A winning pattern known as “small kite” has fourpossible configurations as shown in FIG. 1h. Also, more than one winningpattern may be possible for a particular game session. For example, awinning pattern may include the triangles of six points of the patternshown in FIG. 2f or six internal triangles.

[0097] Winning cell content may be randomly drawn by hand or by computersystem from the predetermined set of cell content for a game session.When the drawing is performed by hand, the winning cell content may bechosen, for example from pieces of paper out of a hat or drum, by usingballs or discs in a rotating or air blown sphere, or any other methodthat can be used for drawing content for a game session (e.g., for thegames of keno or bingo). Hand-drawn winning cell content may then bedisplayed or entered into a computer system. Preferably, the winningcell content is randomly drawn by computer system from the predeterminedset of cell content for a particular game session.

[0098] After a winning cell content is drawn, a player may manually daubhis or her game card(s) on paper or by whatever means the player isviewing the game proceedings (e.g., by daubing a game card in aninterface of a computer system). The game player may view the gameproceedings using television, wireless or line telephone with display,handheld device, kiosk, computer or in person. For example, the gameplayer may operate a computer system that has an Internet-enabledinterface (e.g., using Macromedia Flash or Java) and the computer systemmay display streamed game information within that interface. It shouldbe appreciated that any interface may be used to display gameproceedings and that the invention is not limited to any particularinterface. Depending upon the viewing medium, it may be necessary todownload game information prior to viewing while another viewing mediummay allow viewing of the streamed game information.

[0099] When a player matches enough winning cell content to obtain awinning pattern for a game session, the player informs the game operatorthat they are a winner. If the game player is playing the game inperson, this act of informing may include raising one's hand or visuallyindicating that he or she has a winner. The game operator then verifiesthat the game player won by checking the daubed game card cell contentagainst the drawn winning cell content. If the game player plays thegame remotely, for instance over the web or interactive television, orif the game operator is a computer system, then other electronic orvoice indication method may be necessary to authenticate and verify thegame player and the winning game card. Such methods are well-known inthe remote and electronic gaming industry.

[0100] In one embodiment, a computer system (e.g., a personal computerPC, set top box, PDA, phone) may automatically daub the matching cellcontent of each game card being played in a game session after eachdrawn winning cell content. The game player may view the gameproceedings using any interface including a television, a wireless orother type of telephone having a display, a handheld device, a kiosk orcomputer. However, because the computer is adapted to automatically daubmatching cell content, the game player may decide not to observe thedrawing of winning cell content.

[0101] The computer system may then automatically determine when a gamecard is a winner. Such a result may be automatically authenticated andverified by the computer system. In this instance, the computer systemmay then notify the game player that he or she has won and what thewinnings are after the computer has consulted a predetermined payouttable (e.g., item 130 of FIG. 4 as described above). The computer mayalso determine if the winning needs to be shared with other winning gamecards. Notification of winning to a game player may occur by mail,e-mail, computer web or network, telephone, television, pager, fax,kiosk or any other method.

[0102] When the computer system daubs matching cell content on one ormore game cards, the computer system may also determine the game card(s)and the associated player identity(ies) that are closest to winningafter each drawn winning cell content. The computer system may thendisplay the game card(s) or the identity of the game player(s) closestto winning to all game players observing the game session. The computersystem may also choose to display only one or a subset of all the gamecards or identities of players closest to winning to a particular gameplayer observing the game session.

[0103] After a winner is authenticated and verified, the computer systemmay then notify all game players observing the game session that a winhas occurred. Additionally, the computer system may display the winninggame card, the winning player's identity or the payout. Because the gamesession does not end until a predetermined fixed number of winning cellcontent is drawn, it is possible for this notification to occur severaltimes, each time for a different game card during a particular gamesession.

[0104] As stated above, it may also be possible that a game card may bea winner because the game card does not match the drawn winning cellcontent. For example, in a game session having forty drawn winning cellcontent out of a predetermined set of cell content of seventy-fiveitems, a game card that has no matches may be a winning card. Such acard may have a payout equivalent to a game card having a five-in-a-rowmatching pattern.

[0105] During a period of time between game sessions, a game operatormay make announcements, rest, or perform any number of actions. If thegame is played using a computer system, advertisements, sponsorships,public service announcements or any visual or auditory content may beinserted into these periods. Advertisements, and other content may alsobe inserted into the game display during a game session.

[0106] In the configuration where the computer automatically daubs thegame cards for the players, it may be beneficial to allow a game playerto remotely access information indicating the results of a game sessionafter the session has completed. In this manner, a player may not needto attend a particular game session, as results of each session may beaccessed at a later time. Further, the player need not access the gamesession results from a same interface at which the game was played orsubscribed. Remote access may be gained, for example, by kiosk,telephone, television, computer, handheld device or any other device orsystem that is appropriate. Information that may be accessed regarding apast game session may include whether the player won or lost, what theplayer's payout was, or other information relating to the past gamesession.

[0107] A game player may also be able to replay or review a past gamesession using a video-enabled device. For instance, a kiosk, telephonehaving a display, television, computer or handheld device may be used toreplay a past game session. By accessing a selected game session in thecomputer system, a game player may be able to see a past game session asit occurred, the winning cards and winning game player identity(ies),the drawn winning cell content, or possibly any other aspect of the gamesession of interest.

[0108] Preferably, the game, its game sessions, and the game play arepartially or fully automated using one or more computer systems. Morepreferably, the game, its game sessions, and the game play are fullyautomated. A computer system may be a single computer that may be asupercomputer, minicomputer or a mainframe or personal computer. Acomputer system used to run a game and its associates sessions and mayalso include any combination of computer system types that cooperate toaccomplish system-level tasks. Multiple computer systems may also beused to run a game. The computer system also may include input or outputdevices, displays, or storage units. It should be appreciated that anycomputer system or systems may be used, and the invention is not limitedto any number, type, or configuration of computer systems.

[0109] A computer system that executes a game according to variousembodiments of the invention, may include, foe example, three systemcomponents. One system component may handle payment, subscription and/orAMOE by players to enter the game sessions. Another system component mayhandle playing and viewing the game and a third system may handlepayouts. Such a game system may also be connected (e.g., by direct lineor network) to other computer systems including systems for handlingcasino or hotel loyalty programs, reservations, in-room televisionviewing, gambling floor kiosks, or other systems. Connections to othercomputer systems may be performed using one or more of the systemcomponents described below.

[0110] A payment component may include one or more of a number ofwell-known systems. For example, a player may be able to pay to play oneor more games using a telephone and speaking with a call centerrepresentative who inputs player, payment and subscription informationmanually into a computer using a user interface. In the computer, datamay be stored in a data which is stored in a memory of the computersystem. As used herein, a “data structure” is an arrangement of datadefined by computer-readable signals. These signals may be read by acomputer system, stored on a medium associated with a computer system(e.g., in a memory, on a disk, etc.) and may be transmitted to one ormore other computer systems over a communications medium such as, forexample, a network. Also as used herein, a “user interface” or “UI” isan interface between a human user and a computer that enablescommunication between a user and a computer. Examples of UIs that may beimplemented with various aspects of the invention include a graphicaluser interface (GUI), a display screen, a mouse, a keyboard, a keypad, atrack ball, a microphone (e.g., to be used in conjunction with a voicerecognition system), a speaker, a touch screen, a game controller (e.g.,a joystick) etc, and any combinations thereof.

[0111] Player information may also be entered into a payment systemcomponent. Player information that may be input includes name, address,telephone number and age, and payment information may include credit ordebit card number or loyalty account information. Also, as discussedabove, various aspects of the present invention relate to subscriptiongaming for wagering games of chance. Subscription information may beinput, including, for example, a first game session date and time, anumber of game sessions to be played, a number of game pieces to beplayed per game session and bet per game piece. Based upon the paymentand subscription information, the call center representative may verifythat the payment information is valid and that enough credit or funds isavailable for the player's desired subscription.

[0112] A similar system may exist for players entering using the mail ora post card AMOE except the call center may be replaced by a mail centerhaving representatives that enter information into one or more computersvia a user interface. For example, a cashier that works at a casinodirectly with players that pay cash or credit to play, may also have theability to input player, account and subscription information for AMOEplayers using a user interface of computer.

[0113] Computer systems or pay engines for handling electronic or onlinepayment and subscriptions may also be used. Such systems are well-known,and include such systems as Paypal, iKobo, Verisign, and other systems.Using such a system, a player interacts with a user interface to inputinformation into a payment data structure that may be transferred to oneor more payment systems (e.g., PayPal).

[0114] Various pay systems and one or more user interfaces may belocated on computer systems coupled by a network with the computersystem(s) storing data having player, account and subscriptioninformation. As used herein, a “network” or a “communications network”is a group of two or more devices interconnected by one or more segmentsof transmission media or active communications equipment on whichcommunications may be exchanged between the devices.

[0115] The above examples are merely illustrative embodiments of a paysystem component. It should be appreciated that an illustrativeembodiment is not intended to limit the scope of the invention, as anyof numerous other implementations of the pay system, for example,variations of online payment, are possible and are intended to fallwithin the scope of the invention. For example, the payment system mayinclude using pay-per-view systems associated with interactivetelevision or the pay engine may additionally deliver a receipt to theplayer by either e-mail or mail. None of the claims set forth below areintended to be limited to any particular implementation of a pay systemunless such claim includes a limitation explicitly reciting a particularimplementation.

[0116] Payout systems are also well known. Any of a number of standardsystems or payout engines for making payouts for winning may be used.For example, a standard application programming interface such as‘Quicken’ (Intuit Inc., Mountain View, Calif., USA) may be used to writeand mail checks or credit a debit card, credit card (if legal in thejurisdiction of play) or loyalty account. ‘Quicken’ may obtain thepayout information by accessing a payout data structure across anetwork. As used herein, an “application programming interface” or “API”is a set of one or more computer-readable instructions that provideaccess to one or more other sets of computer-readable instructions thatdefine functions, so that such functions can be configured to beexecuted on a computer in conjunction with an application program.

[0117] ‘Quicken’ is merely an illustrative embodiment of the payoutsystem. Such an illustrative embodiment is not intended to limit thescope of the invention, as any of numerous other implementations of thepayout system, for example, variations of online payout, are possibleand are intended to fall within the scope of the invention.Additionally, a cashier may also have access to payout information usinga user interface to the payout data structure through a network; thecashier then makes a payment to the winning player based upon theaccessed information. None of the claims set forth below are intended tobe limited to any particular implementation of a pay system unless suchclaim includes a limitation explicitly reciting a particularimplementation.

[0118] A game playing and viewing system according to one embodiment ofthe invention may comprise of a number of components for performingspecific functions. These components may include, for example, storagemeans that store data structures having information relating to gameconfiguration and game play. For example, such information may includegame variation information, present game session information, gamesession history and win history. A game playing and viewing system mayalso include components to access payment and payout data structures.

[0119]FIG. 4 illustrates various embodiments of a data structureassociated with a game session 122. A game session may include a numberof predetermined items including session date and time 132, sessionlength 140, payout table 130, payout type 138, game card pattern 128,winning pattern 108, set of cell content 126 and the number of winningcontent to be drawn 124 as well as who the players are and the gamecard(s) 100 assigned to each. In one embodiment of the invention, a gamepiece(s) adds another level of complexity to a game session.

[0120] From a predetermined number of winning content to be drawn 124and set of cell content 126, a game session has associated with itwinning cell content 134 that identifies the content necessary todetermine a winning card. As discussed, content 134 may be drawn by handor by the computer system. Further, the specific draw order of thewinning content may be stored for later reference (e.g., for replay at alater time). A game session may also have one or more associated winners144. According to another embodiment, it is possible that a particularsession may have no winners.

[0121] The game playing and viewing system may also include a gameengine. A game engine may perform, for example, functions according toprocess 222 as shown in FIG. 5. Referring to FIG. 5, a game session mayproceed for a player (e.g., player 120) with a game piece (e.g., gamepiece 118) having a game card (e.g., game card 100). At block 200, theplayer pays for a game piece in the game session. At block 202, thecomputer chooses a game piece having one game card and the card cellcontent. At block 204, the computer draws the first winning cellcontent. The computer then checks the game card for a match and daubsthe matching cell content, if necessary (at block 206). At block 208,the computer then checks the game card daubed cells to determine if thecard matches the predetermined winning pattern. If the card is not awinner, the computer may proceed to draw another winning cell content(204) and continue the cycle until the predetermined number of winningcell content has been drawn or until a winner is found. When all thewinning cell content has been drawn at 218 and the game card is not awinner, then the computer may notify the player that the card is not awinner, invite the player to play again or any number of actions.

[0122] If the card is a winner at 208, then the computer may proceed tonotify the player that he or she is a winner as well as possiblydetermine the payout amount and also notifying the player of the payoutamount (e.g., in a game play interface, e-mail, etc.).

[0123] The computer may also display the winning game card and/or playerinformation to all the game players. Winning player information that maybe displayed may include name, city, state and country and/or any otheridentifying information. If multiple winners occur simultaneously, allwinners or winning game cards may be displayed at one time orsequentially. It may also be possible that winners or winning game cardsmay be selectively displayed to particular game players. For instance,if numerous winners occur at one time, a player in Bismarck, N. Dak. maybe shown only the winning player information or game card that occurredclosest to him or her, say in Pierre, S. Dak. versus some other location(e.g., Boston, Mass.).

[0124] After a game card is found not to be a winner, the computer mayalso determine whether the card is the closest to winning if there havebeen no winners (at block 214). Any of a number of criteria may be usedfor determining the card closest to winning. For example, a computer maydetermine that a card is the closest to winning based upon having thehighest number of matching cell content or the least number of cells tomatch to make the winning pattern. A card determined to be closest towinning may then be displayed to all game players.

[0125] It should be appreciated that game play process 222 may includemore or less acts as shown in FIG. 5, and that the invention is notlimited to any particular number of order of acts. (e.g., the orderillustrated in FIG. 5) as the acts may be performed in other orders, mayinclude additional acts and one or more of the acts of process 222 maybe performed in series or in parallel to one or more other acts, orparts thereof. For example, acts 208 and 212, or parts thereof, may beperformed in parallel, and act 214 may be performed at any point duringperformance of process 222.

[0126] Process 222 is merely an illustrative embodiment of a method forperforming game play using a game engine. Such an illustrativeembodiment is not intended to limit the scope of the invention, as anyof numerous other implementations for performing game play using a gameengine. None of the claims set forth below are intended to be limited toany particular implementation of a method of game play for a gameengine, unless such claim includes a limitation explicitly reciting aparticular implementation.

[0127] Process 222, acts thereof and various embodiments and variationsof these methods and acts, individually or in combination, may bedefined by computer-readable signals tangibly embodied on acomputer-readable medium, for example, a non-volatile recording medium,an integrated circuit memory element, or a combination thereof. Suchsignals may define instructions, for example, as part of one or moreprograms, that, as a result of being executed by a computer, instructthe computer to perform one or more of the methods or acts describedherein, and/or various embodiments, variations and combinations thereof.Such instructions may be written in any of a plurality of programminglanguages, for example, Java, Visual Basic, C, C#, or C++, Fortran,Pascal, Eiffel, Basic, COBOL, etc., or any of a variety of combinationsthereof. The computer-readable medium on which such instructions arestored may reside on one or more of the components of a general-purposecomputer described above, and may be distributed across one or more ofsuch components.

[0128] The computer-readable medium may be transportable such that theinstructions stored thereon can be loaded onto any computer systemresource to implement the aspects of the present invention discussedherein. In addition, it should be appreciated that the instructionsstored on the computer-readable medium, described above, are not limitedto instructions embodied as part of an application program running on ahost computer. Rather, the instructions may be embodied as any type ofcomputer code (e.g., software or microcode) that can be employed toprogram a processor to implement the above-discussed aspects of thepresent invention.

[0129] It should be appreciated that any single component or collectionof multiple components of a computer system, for example, the computersystem described below in relation to FIG. 10, that perform thefunctions described above with respect to describe or reference themethod can be generically considered as one or more controllers thatcontrol the above-discussed functions. The one or more controllers canbe implemented in numerous ways, such as with dedicated hardware, orusing a processor that is programmed using microcode or software toperform the functions recited above.

[0130] Another component of the game playing and viewing system mayinclude a software component (e.g., a driver) that streams video via abroadband, satellite or wireless medium to a user interface. If the gameis played completely automatically, the user interface may be merely avideo terminal including television with no user input means. Viewingaccess may be controlled by standard methods for conditional accessincluding using set top box addresses, telephone numbers or internetprotocol (IP) addresses.

[0131] The above is merely an illustrative embodiment of a game playingand viewing system. Such an illustrative embodiment is not intended tolimit the scope of the invention, as any of numerous otherimplementations of a game playing and viewing system, for example,variations of conditional access, are possible and are intended to fallwithin the scope of the invention. None of the claims set forth beloware intended to be limited to any particular implementation of a gameplaying and viewing system unless such claim includes a limitationexplicitly reciting a particular implementation.

[0132] System 300, and components thereof such as the payment, payoutand game engines, may be implemented using software (e.g., C, C#, C++,Java, or a combination thereof), hardware (e.g., one or moreapplication-specific integrated circuits, processors or other hardware),firmware (e.g., electrically-programmed memory) or any combinationthereof. One or more of the components of 300 may reside on a singlesystem (e.g., the payment subsystem), or one or more components mayreside on separate, discrete systems. Further, each component may bedistributed across multiple systems, and one or more of the systems maybe interconnected.

[0133] Further, on each of the one or more systems that include one ormore components of 300, each of the components may reside in one or morelocations on the system. For example, different portions of thecomponents of 300 may reside in different areas of memory (e.g., RAM,ROM, disk, etc.) on the system. Each of such one or more systems mayinclude, among other components, a plurality of known components such asone or more processors, a memory system, a disk storage system, one ormore network interfaces, and one or more busses or other internalcommunication links interconnecting the various components.

[0134] System 300 may be implemented on a computer system describedbelow in relation to FIGS. 10 and 11.

[0135] System 300 is merely an illustrative embodiment of the gamesystem. Such an illustrative embodiment is not intended to limit thescope of the invention, as any of numerous other implementations of thegame system, for example, variations of 300, are possible and areintended to fall within the scope of the invention. For example, aparallel system for viewing by interactive television may include one ormore additional video streamers specific for interactive television.None of the claims set forth below are intended to be limited to anyparticular implementation of the game system unless such claim includesa limitation explicitly reciting a particular implementation.

[0136] Various embodiments according to the invention may be implementedon one or more computer systems. These computer systems, may be, forexample, general-purpose computers such as those based on IntelPENTIUM-type processor, Motorola PowerPC, Sun UltraSPARC,Hewlett-Packard PA-RISC processors, or any other type of processor. Itshould be appreciated that one or more of any type computer system maybe used to partially or fully automate play of the described gameaccording to various embodiments of the invention. Further, the softwaredesign system may be located on a single computer or may be distributedamong a plurality of computers attached by a communications network.

[0137] A general-purpose computer system according to one embodiment ofthe invention is configured to perform any of the described gamefunctions including but not limited to player subscription or payment,game piece or card selection, drawing winning cell content, daubingmatching cell content on game cards, determining winners and payingwinners. It should be appreciated that the system may perform otherfunctions, including network communication, and the invention is notlimited to having any particular function or set of functions.

[0138] For example, various aspects of the invention may be implementedas specialized software executing in a general-purpose computer system400 such as that shown in FIG. 10. The computer system 400 may include aprocessor 403 connected to one or more memory devices 404, such as adisk drive, memory, or other device for storing data. Memory 404 istypically used for storing programs and data during operation of thecomputer system 400. Components of computer system 400 may be coupled byan interconnection mechanism 405, which may include one or more busses(e.g., between components that are integrated within a same machine)and/or a network (e.g., between components that reside on separatediscrete machines). The interconnection mechanism 405 enablescommunications (e.g., data, instructions) to be exchanged between systemcomponents of system 400. Computer system 400 also includes one or moreinput devices 402, for example, a keyboard, mouse, trackball,microphone, touch screen, and one or more output devices 401, forexample, a printing device, display screen, speaker. In addition,computer system 400 may contain one or more interfaces (not shown) thatconnect computer system 400 to a communication network (in addition oras an alternative to the interconnection mechanism 405.

[0139] The storage system 406, shown in greater detail in FIG. 11,typically includes a computer readable and writeable nonvolatilerecording medium 501 in which signals are stored that define a programto be executed by the processor or information stored on or in themedium 501 to be processed by the program. The medium may, for example,be a disk or flash memory. Typically, in operation, the processor causesdata to be read from the nonvolatile recording medium 501 into anothermemory 502 that allows for faster access to the information by theprocessor than does the medium 501. This memory 502 is typically avolatile, random access memory such as a dynamic random access memory(DRAM) or static memory (SRAM). It may be located in storage system 406,as shown, or in memory system 404, not shown. The processor 403generally manipulates the data within the integrated circuit memory 404,502 and then copies the data to the medium 501 after processing iscompleted. A variety of mechanisms are known for managing data movementbetween the medium 501 and the integrated circuit memory element 404,502, and the invention is not limited thereto. The invention is notlimited to a particular memory system 404 or storage system 406.

[0140] The computer system may include specially-programmed,special-purpose hardware, for example, an application-specificintegrated circuit (ASIC). Aspects of the invention may be implementedin software, hardware or firmware, or any combination thereof. Further,such methods, acts, systems, system elements and components thereof maybe implemented as part of the computer system described above or as anindependent component.

[0141] Although computer system 400 is shown by way of example as onetype of computer system upon which various aspects of the invention maybe practiced, it should be appreciated that aspects of the invention arenot limited to being implemented on the computer system as shown in FIG.10. Various aspects of the invention may be practiced on one or morecomputers having a different architecture or components that that shownin FIG. 10.

[0142] Computer system 400 may be a general-purpose computer system thatis programmable using a high-level computer programming language.Computer system 400 may be also implemented using specially programmed,special purpose hardware. In computer system 400, processor 403 istypically a commercially available processor such as the well-knownPentium class processor available from the Intel Corporation. Many otherprocessors are available. Such a processor usually executes an operatingsystem which may be, for example, the Windows 95, Windows 98, WindowsNT, Windows 2000 (Windows ME) or Windows XP operating systems availablefrom the Microsoft Corporation, MAC OS System X available from AppleComputer, the Solaris Operating System available from Sun Microsystems,or UNIX available from various sources. Many other operating systems maybe used.

[0143] The processor and operating system together define a computerplatform for which application programs in high-level programminglanguages are written. It should be understood that the invention is notlimited to a particular computer system platform, processor, operatingsystem, or network. Also, it should be apparent to those skilled in theart that the present invention is not limited to a specific programminglanguage or computer system. Further, it should be appreciated thatother appropriate programming languages and other appropriate computersystems could also be used.

[0144] One or more portions of the computer system may be distributedacross one or more computer systems (not shown) coupled to acommunications network. These computer systems also may begeneral-purpose computer systems. For example, various aspects of theinvention may be distributed among one or more computer systemsconfigured to provide a service (e.g., servers) to one or more clientcomputers, or to perform an overall task as part of a distributedsystem. For example, various aspects of the invention may be performedon a client-server system that includes components distributed among oneor more server systems that perform various functions according tovarious embodiments of the invention. These components may beexecutable, intermediate (e.g., IL) or interpreted (e.g., Java) codewhich communicate over a communication network (e.g., the Internet)using a communication protocol (e.g., TCP/IP).

[0145] It should be appreciated that the invention is not limited toexecuting on any particular system or group of systems. Also, it shouldbe appreciated that the invention is not limited to any particulardistributed architecture, network, or communication protocol.

[0146] Various embodiments of the present invention may be programmedusing an object-oriented programming language, such as SmallTalk, Java,C++, Ada, or C# (C-Sharp). Other object-oriented programming languagesmay also be used. Alternatively, functional, scripting, and/or logicalprogramming languages may be used. Various aspects of the invention maybe implemented in a non-programmed environment (e.g., documents createdin HTML, XML or other format that, when viewed in a window of a browserprogram, render aspects of a graphical-user interface (GUI) or performother functions). Various aspects of the invention may be implemented asprogrammed or non-programmed elements, or any combination thereof.

[0147] Having now described some illustrative embodiments of theinvention, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that theforegoing is merely illustrative and not limiting, having been presentedby way of example only. Numerous modifications and other illustrativeembodiments are within the scope of one of ordinary skill in the art andare contemplated as falling within the scope of the invention. Inparticular, although many of the examples presented herein involvespecific combinations of method acts or system elements, it should beunderstood that those acts and those elements may be combined in otherways to accomplish the same objectives. Acts, elements and featuresdiscussed only in connection with one embodiment are not intended to beexcluded from a similar role in other embodiments. Further, for the oneor more means-plus-function limitations recited in the following claims,the means are not intended to be limited to the means disclosed hereinfor performing the recited function, but are intended to cover in scopeany means, known now or later developed, for performing the recitedfunction.

[0148] As used herein, whether in the written description or the claims,the terms “comprising”, “including”, “carrying”, “having”, “containing”,“involving”, and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e.,to mean including but not limited to. Only the transitional phrases“consisting of” and “consisting essentially of”, respectively, shall beclosed or semi-closed transitional phrases, as set forth, with respectto claims, in the United States Patent Office Manual of Patent ExaminingProcedures (Original Eighth Edition, August 2001), Section 2111.03.

[0149] Use of ordinal terms such as “first”, “second”, “third”, etc., inthe claims to modify a claim element does not by itself connote anypriority, precedence, or order of one claim element over another or thetemporal order in which acts of a method are performed, but are usedmerely as labels to distinguish one claim element having a certain namefrom another element having a same name (but for use of the ordinalterm) to distinguish the claim elements.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for conducting a game, the gameincluding one or more players and involving, for each of the one or moreplayers, at least one game card having a plurality of selectablecontent, the method comprising acts of: determining, for at least one ofthe one or more players, the at least one game card having a pattern,wherein the act of determining the game card further comprises an act ofdetermining content of the game card; determining, prior to a gamesession, a winning pattern; drawing winning cell content from apredetermined set of cell content; determining if, for the at least oneplayer, whether the pattern of cell content on the game card matchingthe drawn winning cell content matches the winning pattern; and if so,determining a payout.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein theact of determining a payout further comprises an act of determining thepayout based upon fixed odds of winning.
 3. The method according toclaim 1, wherein the act of determining a payout further comprises anact of determining the payout based upon variable odds of winning. 4.The method according to claim 1, wherein the act of determining thecontent of the game card further comprises automatically choosing atleast one portion of the content without the at least one playerchoosing the at least one portion.
 5. The method according to claim 1,wherein the game includes a plurality of game cards including the atleast one game card, and wherein the act of determining the at least onegame card includes an act of ensuring that the content of the at leastone game card is unique.
 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein thegame session is conducted without interaction of the at least oneplayer.
 7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising an act ofproviding for an entry of the at least one player in the game using analternative method of entry (AMOE).
 8. The method according to claim 1,wherein the act of determining a payout includes determining, from apredetermined payout table, a payout to the at least one player.
 9. Agame having an associated game session, the game comprising: one or moregame pieces assigned to each player, wherein each game piece includesone or more game cards, wherein each of the one or more game cardsincludes a plurality of cells arranged in a pattern, wherein each of theone or more game pieces includes a set of game cards having a same setof game patterns, and wherein the calls of each of the one or more gamecards contains content chosen randomly from a predetermined set of cellcontent; a winning cell matching pattern for the game session; a fixednumber of winning cell content drawn from a known set of content; and apayout based upon a predetermined payout table.
 10. The game accordingto claim 9, wherein every game piece assigned in a game session isunique.
 11. The game according to claim 9, wherein every game pieceincludes a set of game cards having at least one of different cardpatterns, a winning pattern, and cell content.
 12. The game according toclaim 9, wherein every game piece is made up of a set of game cardshaving at least one of a same card pattern, a winning pattern, and cellcontent.
 13. The game according to claim 9, wherein every card in a gamesession is unique.
 14. The game according to claim 9, wherein the cellcontent includes at least one of a number, a letter, a shape, a symbol,a color, a logo and a drawing.
 15. The game according to claim 9,wherein each cell of each game card contains content unique to eachrespective game card.
 16. The game according to claim 9, wherein thecell content may be at least one of a free, a blank and a wild spot. 17.The game according to claim 9, wherein the predetermined set of symbolsis divided into subsets, at least one of which is assigned for use in aparticular group of cells.
 18. The game according to claim 17, whereinthe game card is a bingo game card.
 19. The game according to claim 9,wherein the player pays to play with at least one of money and loyaltypoints.
 20. The game according to claim 19, wherein the player pays byat least one of cash, a debit card, a credit card, an account credit,and a loyalty program credit.
 21. The game according to claim 9, whereinthe player is permitted to subscribe to play multiple game sessions. 22.The game according to claim 21, wherein the player is permitted toautomatically renew the subscription.
 23. The game according to claim 9,wherein each player plays against an operator of the game.
 24. The gameaccording to claim 9, wherein each player is not required to observe thegame session in order to play the game.
 25. The game according to claim9, wherein each player is permitted to observe the game session.
 26. Thegame according to claim 25, wherein each player is permitted to observeon at least one of a television, a personal computer, a kiosk, ahandheld device, a telephone having a display, a kiosk and in person.27. The game according to claim 9, wherein the payout for winningdepends upon the number of winning cell content drawn before obtainingthe winning pattern.
 28. The game according to claim 27, wherein thepayout for winning decreases as the number of winning cell content drawnincreases to obtain the winning pattern.
 29. The game according to claim9, wherein the payout for winning to a player is increased with acorresponding increase in payment by the player to play.
 30. The gameaccording to claim 9, wherein the payout to a player for winning thegame is divided among each of a plurality of winning players.
 31. Thegame according to claim 9, wherein there may be at least one progressivejackpot.
 32. The game according to claim 9, wherein the payout table isnot directly determined by the odds of winning with or without a fee tothe gaming operator.
 33. The game according to claim 9, wherein thepayout for winning may include at least one of money, a credit,merchandise, and loyalty points.
 34. The game according to claim 9,wherein the payout for winning money is performed by providing at leastone of cash, a check, a debit card, and an account credit.
 35. The gameaccording to claim 9, wherein the payout for winning loyalty points isperformed by providing at least one of a loyalty program credit and anaccount credit.
 36. The game according to claim 9, wherein the gamesessions are run continually.
 37. The game according to claim 9, whereinthe winning cell content is randomly chosen manually.
 38. The gameaccording to claim 37, wherein the winning cell content is entered intoa computer system.
 39. The game according to claim 9, wherein a gameplaying computer system randomly picks the winning cell content from apredetermined set of content.
 40. The game according to claim 38,wherein after each winning cell content is drawn, the computer systemperforms acts of: determining whether any of the game cards being playedattains the winning cell matching pattern; and determining the payoutbased upon the predetermined payout table.
 41. The game according toclaim 39, wherein after each winning cell content is drawn, the computersystem performs acts of: determining whether any of the game cards beingplayed attains the winning cell matching pattern; and determining thepayout based upon the predetermined payout table.
 42. The game accordingto claim 9, wherein the player manually daubs his or her at least onegame card.
 43. The game according to claim 42, wherein the player tellsthe gaming operator or computer system that the game winning pattern hasbeen matched.
 44. The game according to claim 43, wherein the player andthe winning game card must be verified and authenticated by the gamingoperator or computer system.
 45. The game according to claim 41, whereinthe player manually daubs his or her at least one game card.
 46. Thegame according to claim 45, wherein the player tells the gaming operatoror computer system that the game winning pattern has been matched. 47.The game according to claim 46, wherein the player and the winning gamecard must be verified and authenticated by the gaming operator orcomputer system.
 48. The game according to claim 39, wherein a computersystem additionally automatically daubs each game card cell being playedin a game session containing the winning content.
 49. The game accordingto claim 44, wherein a game playing computer system displays to allplayers when there is a winner.
 50. The game according to claim 46,wherein a game playing computer system displays to all players whenthere is a winner.
 51. The game according to claim 44, wherein a gameplaying computer system displays to all players at least one of thewinning game card and the winning player.
 52. The game according toclaim 46, wherein a game playing computer system displays to all playersat least one of the winning game card and the winning player.
 53. Thegame according to claim 48, wherein a game playing computer systemdetermines at least one of a game card or a player closest to winning.54. The game according to claim 53, wherein a game playing computersystem displays to all players at least one of the game card and playerclosest to winning.
 55. The game according to claim 48, wherein thecomputer system automatically notifies a player of the game result. 56.The game according to claim 48, wherein the computer systemautomatically notifies a player of winnings.
 57. The game according toclaim 55, wherein the computer system notifies a player by at least oneof a group including a telephone, a pager, a fax, a mail message, atelevision notification, a personal computer message, a handheld device,and a kiosk.
 58. The game according to claim 56, wherein the computersystem notifies a player by at least one of a group including atelephone, a pager, a fax, a mail message, a television notification, apersonal computer message, a handheld device, and a kiosk.
 59. The gameaccording to claim 48, wherein a player may access his or her resultsfor past gaming sessions remotely at any time.
 60. The game according toclaim 59, wherein the results for past gaming sessions are at least oneof a win, a payout, and a loss.
 61. The game according to claim 59,wherein a player gains remote access through at least one of a groupincluding a kiosk, a phone, a handheld device, a television and acomputer.
 62. The game according to claim 48, wherein a player replays apast game session remotely at any time.
 63. The game according to claim62, wherein a player gains remote access through at least one of a groupincluding a kiosk, a telephone having a display, a handheld device, atelevision and a computer.
 64. The game according to claim 41, whereinthe game sessions are run continually, and wherein advertising streamsinserted into the display during the game session.
 65. The gameaccording to claim 41, wherein the game sessions are run continually,and wherein advertising streams displayed between individual gamesessions.
 66. The game according to claim 41, wherein the player mayenter a game session through an alternative method of entry (AMOE). 67.The game according to claim 9, wherein the game and its associated gamesession are played using one or more computer systems.
 68. The gameaccording to claim 9, wherein the cells of each of the one or more gamecards is chosen by a gaming operator.
 69. The game according to claim 9,wherein the cells of each of the one or more game cards is chosenrandomly by a computer system.
 70. A system for playing a game on acomputer system, the system comprising: means for allowing game playersto enter to play a wagering game of chance; means for assigning one ormore game pieces to each player where each game piece comprises one ormore game cards and wherein, each of the one or more game cards hascells arranged in a pattern, wherein each of the one or more game piecesincludes a set of game cards having a same set of game card patterns,and wherein the cells of each of the one or more game card containcontent chosen randomly from a predetermined set of cell content; meansfor choosing a winning cell matching pattern for the game session; meansfor drawing a fixed number of winning cell content from a known set ofcontent; means for matching the drawn winning cell content with the cellcontent of each game card; means for determining one or more winninggame cards; and means for paying out winnings according to apredetermined payout table.
 71. The computer system according to claim70, further comprising means for notifying a winning player that he orshe has a winning game card.
 72. A computer system according to claim66, further comprising means for notifying a winning player the payoutthat he or she has won.
 73. A computer system according to claim 65,further comprising means for notifying all game players of winning gamecards as they occur.
 74. A computer system according to claim 65,further comprising means for notifying all game players of the identityof a winning game player.
 75. A computer system according to claim 65,further comprising means for allowing game players to view the gamesession proceedings as they occur.
 76. A computer system according toclaim 65, further comprising means for allowing game players to replaypast game sessions.
 77. A computer system according to claim 65, furthercomprising means for allowing game players to enter using an alternativemethod of entry (AMOE).
 78. A computer system according to claim 65,further comprising means for allowing game players to pay and tosubscribe to one or more game sessions.
 79. A computer-readable mediumhaving computer-readable signals stored thereon that define instructionsthat, as a result of being executed by a computer, instruct the computerto perform a method for conducting a game, the game including one ormore players and involving, for each of the one or more players, atleast one game card having a plurality of selectable content, the methodcomprising acts of: determining, for at least one of the one or moreplayers, the at least one game card having a pattern, wherein the act ofdetermining the game card further comprises an act of determiningcontent of the game card; determining, prior to a game session, awinning pattern; drawing winning cell content from a predetermined setof cell content; determining if, for the at least one player, whetherthe pattern of cell content on the game card matching the drawn winningcell content makes a pattern matching the winning pattern; and if so,determining a payout.
 80. The computer-readable medium according toclaim 79, wherein the act of determining a payout further comprises anact of determining the payout based upon a fixed odds of winning. 81.The computer-readable medium according to claim 79 wherein the act ofdetermining the content of the game card further comprises an act ofautomatically choosing at least one portion of the content without theat least one player choosing the at least one portion.
 82. Thecomputer-readable medium according to claim 79, wherein the gameincludes a plurality of game cards including the at least one game card,and wherein the act of determining the at least one game card includesan act of ensuring that the content of the at least one game card isunique.
 83. The computer-readable medium according to claim 79, whereinthe game session is conducted without interaction of the at least oneplayer.
 84. The computer-readable medium according to claim 79, furthercomprising an act of providing for an entry of the at least one playerin the game using an alternative method of entry (AMOE).
 85. Thecomputer-readable medium according to claim 79, wherein the act ofdetermining a payout includes determining, from a predetermined payouttable, a payout to the at least one player.